GCNLF News and Events

Latest News

New Global Report Finds Majority of People at High Risk of Stroke Not Being Screened for Common Risk Factors

New research released by the Economist Intelligence Unit, a division of The Economist, revealed that on average, more than 75 percent of people aged 65 and older worldwide are not being screened for common stroke risk factors during routine primary care examinations, even though this population is at high risk for stroke. The EIU “Preventing Stroke: Uneven Progress” report, sponsored by The Bristol-Myers Squibb-Pfizer Alliance, conducted an analysis of 20 countries and found that efforts to screen people for stroke risk factors including AFib varied widely, even in countries with established health care and developed economies.

Clinical management of chronic cardiovascular disease is a key component of the work of advanced practice nurses and RNs in the cardiology and primary care settings. PCNA has developed an annual pharmacology CE program to meet the clinical practice and re-certification needs of these clinicians.

This year, course director Cindy Lamendola, MSN, NP, and faculty Carol Headley, DNSc., ACNP, RN, CNN and Wei Jiang, MD have developed a curriculum that includes a comprehensive approach to Pharmacology in:

Cardio-Metabolic Risk Reduction in Patients with Pre-Diabetes and DM2

It’s a Balancing Act: Medication Management in Patients with CKD and CVD

Pharmacological Management of the Cardiac Patient with Depression and/or Anxiety

Those who satisfactorily complete this course will earn 7.0 contact hours in the area of pharmacology. Independent self-paced pre- and post- course evaluation are included.

We have created an informational flyer to increase awareness of GCNLF and help recruit nurse leaders and professional organizations. Feel free to download the two-sided flyer for your use in GCNLF outreach.

BARCELONA, SPAIN – Nurse leaders from around the globe gathered in Barcelona today to tackle the global epidemic of cardiovascular disease. The Global Cardiovascular Nursing Leadership Forum (GCNLF), whose mission is to mobilize an international community of nurse leaders, met to examine ways that nursing and global nursing organizations can contribute the World Heart Federation’s goal to reduce deaths from non-communicable diseases 25% by 2025.

While cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke are largely preventable, they remain a global epidemic and the major cause of death worldwide. Recognizing that nurses are on the front lines of this epidemic, over 30 global nurse leaders representing multiple international organizations were convened by the GCNLF for a two-day summit. Nurse leaders shared experiences, best practices and challenges, received a clinically-focused nurse empowerment training, and will return to their country with individualized action plans.

“Central to addressing the global epidemic of cardiovascular disease is the high-quality engagement of patients by well-trained and empowered nurses,” said Laura Hayman, PhD, RN, FPCNA, FAAN, chair of the GCNLF. “This meeting is the next step towards building a stronger nursing practice in countries where it is not as well established.”

This is the second official meeting of the GCNLF, who met in 2014 to formulate a “Global Strategy” to address the role of nursing in global CVD and stroke prevention. In the first step of that plan, the group launched an online home early in 2016 to serve as an international patient education resource and information clearinghouse.

“Nursing is the largest healthcare discipline globally,” said Catriona Jennings, GCNLF steering committee member and past chair of the Cardiovascular Council on Nursing and Allied Professions. “While the challenges vary by country, we are confident that the collaborative and global nature of GCNLF will help us tackle this epidemic.”

For more information on the Global Cardiovascular Nursing Leadership Forum, visit www.gcnlf.org.

“We know the cases of heart attacks and strokes and how to prevent them, now we need action."

Dozens of leading organizations came together to sign the Mexico Declaration on Improving Circulatory Health for All People. The Declaration is the first global declaration on heart health and represents a major commitment by these organizations to work together to address the global CVD epidemic. The commitment was reiterated in in the letter published in the Times of London, which also called for action on behalf of political leaders to develop national plans.

This week more than 25 of the world's leading health organizations, including the World Heart Federation, British Heart Foundation and World Stroke Organization, signed the Mexico Declaration on Circulatory Heath, the most comprehensive global declaration for the prevention of heart disease and stroke. Every three minutes someone dies as a result of heart disease and stroke in the UK; the healthcare costs alone are estimated to be up to #11 billion a year. We know the cases of heart attacks and strokes and how to prevent them, now we need action. That requires political leadership to create and implement national action plans to prevent disease.

The World Health Organization’s aim is to reduce premature mortality from heart disease and stroke by 25 per cent by 2025, and we have now pledged to achieve this together. This is an international call to action to tackle one of the most pressing health issue of our time.

She visited nurses at five different hospitals, where she fielded questions about research, women and cardiovascular disease, and developing a cardiac rehabilitation program. Fletcher was also able to collect patient education examples to share in the GCNLF library.

"The nurses I encountered were all active team members in the care of the patients with many very interested in research and advancing clinical outcomes," says Fletcher. "It was an amazing eleven days that I will not forget."

The Global Cardiovascular Nursing Leadership Forum (GCNLF), an initiative of the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA), today announced the launch of a new global patient education resource and information clearinghouse to facilitate the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke around the world. The new website, at www.gcnlf.org, includes general information about GCNLF, a patient education resource library, connections to partner organizations, upcoming event information and more.

“While cardiovascular disease and stroke are largely preventable, they remain a global epidemic and the major cause of death worldwide,” says Laura Hayman, PhD, RN, FPCNA, FAAN, Chair of the PCNA International Committee. “Recognizing that nurses and nursing organizations are on the front lines of patient education, our primary goal is to engage and mobilize an international community of nursing leaders to promote CVD prevention in clinical practice and through research, education, and policy.”

The new website also serves as a source of information about GCNLF itself, which was established under the umbrella of PCNA in 2014. At its core, the collaborative and global nature of GCNLF explores ways in which nursing and global nursing organizations can support the established cardiovascular risk reduction and stroke reduction goal set by the World Heart Federation to reduce deaths from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) 25% by 2025. The massive global toll of NCDs – including CVD and stroke – deepens poverty, impedes development, threatens health systems and is a major cause of disability and health inequality.

GCNLF’s major areas of focus include: Identifying, engaging and mobilizing the international community of cardiovascular nursing leadership; cultivating the role of nurses as ambassadors in CVD prevention; collaborating with other healthcare providers and international organizations dedicated to the prevention of CVD and stroke; and working to develop practices, policies and educational programs that help nurses around the world adhere to evidence-based practice guidelines while taking into account advancements in CVD risk reduction and stroke prevention (including those focused on cultural and gender differences).

“As nurses form the largest healthcare discipline globally, we work from the premise that nurses have the capacity to influence and motivate health behavior change of individuals at risk for CVD and stroke,” says Hayman. “In addition, we’re aiming to develop a stronger and more reliable mechanism for outreach to low income and middle income countries where organized nursing practice and presence is not as well established.”

Having convened for its first global summit in New York City in 2014, GCNLF is planning its next major gathering in Europe later this year. International attendees at this working strategy meeting will focus on developing a strategic action and implementation plan for the focus areas identified as GCNLF priorities, including global nursing education, the sharing of resources and expanding leadership opportunities for nurses worldwide.

As GCNLF begins to expand its global presence and work to engage and mobilize an international community of nursing leaders, representatives will be connecting with colleagues and presenting at the World Congress of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Health in Mexico City June 4-7.

On Sunday, June 5, GCNLF leaders Kathy Berra and Laura Hayman will present a session on “Reducing the Global Burden of CVD: Challenges and Opportunities for Nurses.” Berra will also lead an interactive session later in the day on the role of nurses in CVD prevention and care management.

Hayman, along with Nancy Houston Miller and Barbara Fletcher, will also present “Patient and Public Education for Reducing CVD Risk: A Focus on Literacy” on Tuesday, June 7. Also that day, Houston Miller will lead “Speaking about Adherence: Improving Success in Clinical Practice.”

We hope to connect with many of our peers and colleagues at the Word Congress of Cardiology. To learn more about our presenters, refer the PCNA Board of Directors page.

Nurses are the largest health care discipline in the world managing cardiovascular disease (CVD), and our involvement in CVD and stroke prevention has resulted in improved outcomes for our patients. GCNLF leaders Laura L. Hayman, PhD, MSN; Kathy Berra, MSN, NP-BC; Barbara J. Fletcher, RN, MN and Nancy Houston Miller, RN, BSN recently took this message to the pages of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in their recent guest editorial, "The Role of Nurses in Promoting Cardiovascular Health Worldwide: The Global Cardiovascular Nursing Leadership Forum."

The editorial focused on the important role nurses play CVD management and prevention and outlined GCNLF's efforts "to elevate the role of cardiovascular and stroke nursing globally and to affect CVD prevention and treatment around the world." Here is an excerpt:

By taking on a primary role as team leaders in providing case management, nurses have proven their capability to not only reduce CVD risk factors, but to also adhere to treatment guidelines and protocols, decrease hospitalization, and reduce morbidity and mortality in those with established disease. Such programs demonstrating improved outcomes and cost effectiveness have been noted in both developing and developed countries.

The Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA) convened its first Global Cardiovascular Nursing Leadership Forum (GCNLF) in October of 2014, bringing together a collective of internationally recognized nurse leaders from around the world for a cardiovascular disease and prevention strategy meeting. The group, including representatives from both low income and middle income countries, aimed to formulate a draft master plan to address and minimize challenges and barriers to cardiovascular care and prevention on both a global and country-specific level. Moving forward, the collaborative and global nature of the GCNLF will explore ways in which nursing and global nursing organizations can support the established cardiovascular risk reduction and stroke reduction goal set by the World Heart Federation – to reduce non-communicable disease deaths 25% by 2025. In addition, the group aims to develop a mechanism for outreach to low- and middle-income countries where organized nursing practice and presence is not well established for cardiovascular disease and prevention. Stay tuned to this news page for further and ongoing updates.

The Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA) in partnership with the American Heart Association Council on Cardiovascular Nursing, the World Heart Federation and the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professionals, released the Global Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: A Call to Action for Nursing, a scientific paper that addresses the global burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the important role of nurses in primary and secondary prevention. The content of this paper reflects a major shift in recognition of the need to address chronic diseases around the world with new approaches to CVD risk reduction.

Although we live in a period of increasing development and urbanization worldwide, cardiovascular disease remains the principal cause of death and imposes an ever-increasing burden of morbidity and mortality in both high and low-income countries.
“A sense of urgency permeates this supplement. Just as poverty engenders poor health, poor health also contributes to poverty and to loss of productivity worldwide. The challenge of cardiovascular disease is enormous and unrelenting, but it is not insurmountable. The risk factors are known and the skills to modify them are available”. - PCNA International Committee.

In summary, the report addresses:

How nurses have the potential to be visionary leaders in the battle against cardiovascular disease who can innovate, motivate and inspire patients

The need to address chronic diseases as well as infectious diseases and the critical need for team-based approaches

Why cardiovascular disease attacks both high and low-income socioeconomic groups; and why different risk factors are endemic in different societies

Which interventional strategies may have the greatest impact in various locations and cultures

Examples of nurse-led models that have been successful in in the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease

The effective interventions and present global risk assessment tools to help determine which populations need to be targeted

The important gap in the planning, provision and evaluation of cardiovascular care and chronic illness

The proven potential to reverse unhealthy practices, such as poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, and smoking by replacing them with healthy practices

Why, with support from policy-makers, community-based cardiovascular disease prevention initiatives can be highly successful in encouraging and enabling behavior change for groups of people

How effective change requires and in-depth understanding of how multilevel policies operate, especially in poor and developing countries

How health care systems differ throughout the world and can have a significant impact on patient adherence to lifestyle change, resources and skills